Combined brush and soap holder



June 23, 1953 H. L. MILLS 2,642,603

COMBINED BRUSH AND SOAP HOI- DER Filed May 27; 1949 Z/y'f/ #//f arfzevs Patented June 23,V 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED BRUSH AND SOAP HOLDER Henry Lawrence Mills, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application May 27, 1949, Serial No. 95,665 2 claims. (o1. 151oY5 This invention relates to soap holders.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a novel and improved soap holder of cheap and simple construction which can be mounted as on a bathroom lavatory at a convenient location and which includes a bristle equipped brush, the bristles of which will be raised from the base of the brush so as to form a supporting surface on which a cake of soap may be placed to permit free drainage of soapy water from the soap and permitting the soap to dry after usage.

Another object is -to provide such a soap holder wherein the bristles are so arranged that the upper edges of the bristles will form a concave supporting structure for the soap, thereby preventing the soap from slipping off the holder.

Another object is to provide such a soap holder which can not only be used to hold soap but may also be used as a nail or hand brush.

A further object is to provide such a soap holder which includes one or more sucker cups for ready mounting of the soap holder as on the surface of a lavatory. rin.

The objects and advantages of 'the invention will more fully appear from the following'description made in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference char- Referring first to the `embodimentof the invention illustrated -in Figs. 1 to 6, there is there shown a mounting plate such as base plate I0 which consists merelyof a straightbar having a pair of apertures Ilia adjacent its two ends within which rubber sucker cups Il are mounted. The said sucker cups have grooved heads permitting the insertion of the heads through the apertures Illa upon compression ofthe upper portions of the heads until the grooved portions of the heads are-received withiny the apertures The central portion of the base I0 is formed to provide clamping ears IIlb formed in pairs at the opposite edges of the base.

There is provided also a twisted wire brush core I2. `This core is formed in oval shape to provide a brush head I'Za and bristles I3 are seacters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a soap holder embodying the invention arrangedv for mounting onfa vertical support, the supporting structure being shown in horizontal section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2 Fig. 5 is a detail in enlarged scale showing portions of the soap holder illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6- S of Fig. 5 as indicated by the arrows, one of the sucker cups being sectioned and the other sucker cup being shown in side elevation;

Fig. 7 is a plan View showing a diiferent embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken similar to Fig. 8 but showing a still diiierentv embodiment of the invention.

cured by the core at the head portion l2a thereof, these bristles radiating out from the core in the usual manner of a. wire brush. The brush head |211I will be horizontally disposed and thus the bristles at the inner portions of the head will project upwardly less distances than certain of the bristles outwardly disposed therefrom, and the upper ends of the bristlesrwill thus form a supporting structure which is centrally dished or concavely curved to receive a cake of soap S in such manner as to be partially complementary to the convex surface of the usual soap cake.

Accordingly, as a piece of soap S is Supported by the brush formed by the twisted wire core head I2c and the bristles I3 the soap cannot slip oif the brush rand the many bristles will' hold the cake of soap so as to permit drainage `of soapy water therefrom, permitting the air t'o penetrate to the under side of the soap and dry it out.

The end portions |211 of the twisted ,wire core I2 are brought together and carried to the under side of the central part of the base I0, the parts I2C of the end portions of the core being bowed away from each other in a single planeto formA a flat bearing against the under side of the plate I0 preventing the base from twisting to any appreciable extent relative to the twisted wire core. Beyond the bowed parts I2c the two end portions of the twisted wire core may be fastened together as by spot welds I4. The clamping ears Ib are crimped tightly around adjacent parts of the end portions of the twisted wire core and thus the twisted wire core is attached to the base IU. k

There are shown portions of a lavatory L which has a horizontal surface. I5 and arvertical surface I6. If it is desired to attach the soap holder as to a vertical surface of a lavatoryor other support as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the

3 twisted wire core is given a 90 degree bend at I1 between the end portions of the core attached to the plate I and the oval shaped head I2a. If, on the other hand, it is desired to mount the soap holder as on a horizontal surface l5, the twisted wire core is given a 180 degree bend as at I8 shown in Figs. 3 and 4. f

To attach the soap holder in placeit is merely necessary to press the sucker 4cups Il tightly against the surface to which the holder is to be attached. When the holder is connected to a vertical surface it will present the appearance shown in Figs. l and 2, whilewhen itis attached to a horizontal surface it will present the appearance as shown in Figs. 3 and 4., The bar of soap S after use will be held without slipping by the bristles i3 and any loose water may freely drain from the soap and air can get to the bottom of the bar of soap to permit it to dry.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, there is there shown a slightly different embodiment of the invention. The soap holder there shown includes a brush base I9 having a number of apertures therein within which bristles 20 are located. The outer bristles rise to a greater height than the inner bristles so that the structure presented by the upper ends of the bristles will be convex as shown to readily receive the bar of soap S and prevent it from slipping as in the case of the Vrst described'structure. The base I9 is received by a block 2i of rubber or other resilient material, this block having an inwardly curled flanged portion 21a to fit around and grip the edges of the base I9. A pair of sucker cups 2lb are formed at the lower side of the block 2 l v In Fig. 9 a slightly different` embodiment of the invention is illustrated. This device includes a brush base 22 within which upwardly extending bristles 23 are mounted and Ysucker cups 24 carrying screws 25 in their upper portions areattached by these screws to the under side of Ithe base 22. As in the case of the soap holder shown Yin Figs. 7 and 8 the central bristles of the brush Vshown in Fig. 9 are of shorter length than the jouterbristles to form the concavity for reception of the cake of soap.

Itwill be seen that a highly effective soap lholder has been provided. The bristlesnot onlyV actto hold a cakeof soap in place at a con-V venient location, but they maybe also used to clean the finger nails or the hands or for other brush purposes.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement, and proportions of the various parts without departure from the scope of the present invention, which, generally stated, consists in the matter shown, and described, and set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A wire brush soap holder comprising a mounting member in the form of a stiff flat plate element, a plurality of suction cups connected with said plate for securely attaching the same to a smooth fiat surface, a pair of laterally extending spaced wire clamping ears formed on an intermediate portion of said plate, an elongated wire brush having a bendable wire core having the intermediate portion thereof bent to form a generally annular soap-engaging and receiving member with an yopen lcentral portion to engage only an intennediateportion of a cake of soap supported thereon, said wire core having end portions bent outwardly from the annular portion vthereof and being received by said ears to be securely clamped in anchoring position on said plate thereby.

2. The structure set forth in claim l and the end portions of saidwire core element being sen curely clamped together by said ears with the portions intermediate4 the ears being bowed outwardly away from each other to engage the adjacent surfaces of the plate and prevent twisting of the brush relative to the plate.

HENRY LAWRENCE ivinrns.V

References cited in the` sie of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Great'Britain Feb. 3, 1918 

